In today's information-driven world, it is often desirable to present information in various different media. Content created by a content author, such as a designer, developer, programmer, graphic artist, and the like, may be created specifically for presentation on multiple different devices or in multiple different formats. These different displays and formats may have several different presentation variables, such as display size, aspect ratio, resolution, size, pixel shape and size, and the like. The content author would generally create, reshape, or recreate the content for each different targeted format.
Content may also have been originally created for print or used in print, but later thought to be useful for use or presentation in different ways, such as on a computer screen, mobile phone screen, electronic time varying display, or the like. In creating this print content, it may have been created or printed specifically for a certain size, such as letter size. However, it may also be useful for presentation on postcard-size paper, A4 paper, or the like, or in a different media type entirely, such as a standard computer screen, mobile phone, electronic time varying display, or the like. In order to repurpose this content, content authors typically reshape or reformat the original layout to meet the size or layout restrictions of the new, targeted use, device, or media type.
Creation and modification of such content is typically accomplished using computers and graphics design or page layout applications, such as Adobe Systems Incorporated's ACROBAT®, PAGEMAKER®, ILLUSTRATOR®, FREEHAND®, FRAMEMAKER®, FLASH®, AFTER EFFECTS®, PREMIERE PRO®, DREAMWEAVER®, GOLIVE®, Microsoft Corporation's FRONTPAGE®, and the like. The user generally creates, copies, opens, or scans the content into the development area and graphically generates or manipulates the content and layout to fit the desired target size or specific media presentation aspect for the targeted use. For example, if a company desires to create marketing pamphlets in various paper sizes and also for display on its websites, the author would create the graphics and other content for the pamphlet in an Integrated Development Environment (IDE), such as one of the design applications noted above, and then manipulate the graphics of the pamphlet to make it fit onto the desired target size or device in a pleasing or logical manner. The author would general use multiple editing session resulting in multiple files to accommodate all of the intended target formats. The resulting content would then be printed, stored, or placed into whatever other kind of medium or format that it was intended for.
Another relevant example is the creation or repurposing of content for mobile devices, including mobile phones, personal digital assistants (PDAs), portable media devices, such as Apple Computer Inc.'s IPOD®, Creative Technology Ltd.'s ZEN VISION™, iRiver Inc.'s CLIX™, and the like. As these mobile devices become more rich media capable, they become a natural place to consume time varying, interactive, and rich media information. Therefore, content authors are involved in creating new and repurposing existing content specifically for mobile devices. Typically, content authors will make decisions on the layout, presentation, or format of information on a per device basis. With so many devices having multiple different presentation variables, there is a considerable amount of time designing and then fitting the designed content for multiple devices.
A content author may begin the design process by electronically sketching the content in a development environment. In order to make the design process more efficient, the author may use a mask that allows him or her to see the visual dimensions of the various presentation variables for the target media. The author will either create a mask or use a pre-built mask for each mobile device with a separate mask for each device having different presentation variables. The mask is then used as a layer over the content. Part of the mask is typically translucent or opaque, which represents the space outside of the usable display space on the mobile device. A clear portion in the center of the mask shows the visible space available on the device. In this manner, when the user lays the mask over the content, he or she is able to see what will generally be viewable by a person using that particular mobile device. Any part of the content that ends up behind the translucent or opaque section will be content that a user of that particular device would not typically be able to see. The developer may then make the necessary modifications to the content design to fit into the visible display area.
The wide variety of aspect ratios and resolutions available across various media today, and, in particular, across mobile phones and other mobile devices creates an enormous number of variations for any content that is intended to reach multiple media devices. Because a developer purposing content for multiple media devices would generally create several hundred different variations of the content, content creation and repurposing is a very repetitive process that can be very tedious and time consuming. The potential costs to purposing content may, therefore, limit the amount of such authoring that is done and, as a result, reduce the potential benefit that new consumers may have in using content in multiple, different media. Moreover, the time constraints involved in bringing content to the market may result in coarse design decisions being made which may produce an inconsistent quality of information and content display. Such coarsely designed content may be too large or too small for a useful or pleasant user experience.